Clear skies and long nights allowed freezing temperature to develop in some parts of south central Oregon.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
Clear skies and long nights allowed freezing temperature to develop in some parts of south central Oregon.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 30, 1:04 AM PST, 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
204 AM PDT THU AUG 30 2012
.DISCUSSION...ANOTHER COLD MORNING IN PROGRESS ACROSS NORTHERN
KLAMATH, NORTHWEST LAKE, AND EASTERN SISKIYOU COUNTIES WITH
SEVERAL SITES ALREADY APPROACHING OR BELOW FREEZING. FROST/FREEZE
HEADLINES REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM AND THESE LOOK GOOD.
STILL LITTLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER EXPECTED AS WE REMAIN IN THE
SOUTHWEST FLOW JUST UPSTREAM OF A WEAK UPPER TROUGH OFFSHORE. THIS
PATTERN HOLDS INTO THE WEEKEND BEFORE THE MAIN TROUGH AXIS FINALLY
MOVES INLAND SATURDAY INTO EARLY SUNDAY. THERE WILL BE A VERY
SLIGHT WARMING TODAY AND FRIDAY AND THEN WE'LL SHAVE A FEW DEGREES
OFF HIGHS ON SATURDAY. THROUGHOUT THIS TIME WE REMAIN FAIRLY CLEAR
WITH THE USUAL NOCTURNAL STRATUS ISSUES AT THE COAST. MOISTURE
WILL INCREASE ON THE EAST SIDE FRIDAY AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO OUR EAST, BUT WE REMAIN RELATIVELY STABLE WITH NO
SIGNIFICANT TRIGGER. AS THE TROUGH COMES INLAND SATURDAY, WE WILL
HAVE A WEAK TRIGGER AND SOME INSTABILITY, BUT THE MOISTURE WILL BE
OFF TO THE EAST. THAT'S A LONG WINDED WAY OF SAYING, WE AREN'T
EXPECTING ANY STORMS IN OUR AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
IN THE LONGER RANGE: ANOTHER WEAK TROUGH DROPS IN FROM THE GULF OF
ALASKA AND SETS UP OFF SHORE EARLY NEXT WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME, A
RIDGE ALOFT DEVELOPS TO ITS NORTH. THE LATEST MODEL SOLUTIONS SHOW
THIS REX BLOCK REMAINING OFFSHORE AND NOT AS MUCH OF A FIRE
WEATHER CONCERN AS IT APPEARED YESTERDAY. OF COURSE WE'LL HAVE TO
WATCH THIS BECAUSE IT IS A WAYS OUT IN TIME (INHERENTLY LOWER
CONFIDENCE) AND THE MODEL SOLUTIONS TEND TO STRUGGLE WITH
BLOCKING PATTERNS ANYWAY. WITH THIS SETUP NOW OFFSHORE, IT DOES
LEND ITSELF TO WARMER TEMPERATURES OVER INLAND AREAS AND I HAVE
TRENDED WARMER FOR NEXT WEEK. -WRIGHT
&&
.AVIATION...A STRIP OF STRATUS IS FORMING JUST OFF THE COAST AND
WILL LIKELY BRING MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS TO THE COAST AROUND DAWN.
THIS WILL THEN BACK OFFSHORE LATE MORNING WITH VFR RETURNING.
ELSEWHERE, VFR WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT TODAY. AREAS OF SMOKE
WILL OCCASIONALLY LOWER VISIBILITY OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH
SOME SMOKE CREEPING UP INTO SW OREGON AT TIMES.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR ORZ029>031.
FREEZE WARNING UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR ORZ029>031.
CA...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR CAZ082.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR
PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY
FOR PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR
PZZ356.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY
FOR PZZ356.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.
The only reported low temperature in the zone was 27 degrees in Chemult.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 400999.